Giants call up Dan Uggla to start at second base

SAN FRANCISCO — Dan Uggla needed a fresh start. The San Francisco Giants needed a healthy second baseman who could step in and produce.

Both are hoping they can solve each other’s problem.

A week after being released by the Atlanta Braves and just days after signing a minor-league deal with the club, the Giants purchased Uggla’s contract from Class AAA Fresno. They put him in the starting lineup for the opener of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. He was 0 for 2.

“I know what I bring to a clubhouse. I know what I can bring on the field, and I’m just looking forward to going out there and having fun with the guys,” Uggla said after slipping into his newly stitched No. 22 Giants uniform. “No added pressure here on my end. I’ve been in some dark places and battled my own struggles the last year and a half. But that’s over now. I’m here to have fun.”

The Giants have had little production from their second basemen this season.

Marco Scutaro and Ehire Adrianza were placed on the 15-day disabled list before the game. Scutaro’s strained lower back has kept him out for all but five games this season — though the Giants are still hopeful he can come back — and Adrianza has a strained right hamstring that is considered minor.

Notes

• The Mets say pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is returning to New York to have his right elbow examined.

• The Chicago White Sox say owner Jerry Reinsdorf has been hospitalized after feeling lightheaded in Cooperstown, N.Y. The team says all tests Friday night indicate he is fine. The 78-year-old Reinsdorf, also chairman of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, is coherent and resting comfortably, according to the club.